Campaign finance bill increases transparency

Four area Republican legislators say the campaign finance bill increases accountability and transparency as do the changes made to the Government Accountability Board.(Photo: KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

After reading with great concern the opinion piece written by the executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin, Andrea Kaminski, we believe the amount of misinformation described by the author must be addressed.

To try to make the argument that Wisconsin’s campaign finance laws are not transparent is a dishonest attempt at demagoguery. Wisconsin is consistently considered one of the strictest states in terms of campaign finance law and we pride ourselves on that fact. Our state is far from corrupt — just look at our neighbors to the south in Illinois where two recent Democrat governors served time in jail for bribery charges.

Contrary to what Kaminski stated in her opinion piece, the campaign finance bill that passed in the Wisconsin Assembly actually increases reporting frequency and transparency. We voted to increase the number of finance reports filed so that citizens can know who is contributing to campaigns. Incidentally, we have doubled the contribution limits, something that has not been done since 1973. If adjusted for inflation, we would be increasing contribution limits fivefold. Comparing the proposed contribution limits to other states, we are still below the national average — most have much higher limits and five Midwestern states have no limits.

Another point of interest that Kaminski noted in her op-ed was her concern with overhauling the Government Accountability Board. The GAB was originally crafted in 2007 where nonpartisan retired judges would supervise elections and ethics disputes. The plan was idealistic, well-intentioned —and unrealistic.

The truly nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau has issued two scathing audits revealing that the GAB failed to do many of its statutory duties, from reviewing voter rolls to remove felons, to auditing electronic voter equipment in a timely manner. Moreover, an audit revealed that the GAB spent time and resources on an unconstitutional John Doe investigation. It’s clear that Wisconsin’s taxpayers deserve better.

Our common sense reforms will bring accountability and transparency to our watchdog agency. Moving forward, Wisconsin citizens can have confidence that their elections, ethics, and campaign finance laws will be overseen with fairness and integrity. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to your elected officials if you have any questions or concerns. As your representatives in Madison, we are happy to assist you.